Oh, Song Kran

Once again I have gotten behind on my blogs so it is now time to try to rehash what has happened in the last three weeks. The reason I haven’t been able to write is that I have been here, there, and everywhere in between. Oh, and there’s that little thing called Song Kran. I guess that would be the most logical place to start.

I know I have written about Song Kran before, but now I have actually lived through the festival. Like I stated earlier, it is the Thai New Year which consists primarily of heavy drinking and water fights. That pretty much sums up my Song Kran experience, but with a few minor exceptions. By the time the actual holiday rolled around I was sick and tired of getting splashed with water. It would have been so much more fun if everyone hadn't been soaking me for the three weeks prior to the festival. Oh well, that's life! One of the rituals is to go and get sand out of the river and place a small amount at each wat in the village. Of course, even this is an interesting experience given that there are usually big processions going to each wat, 99 percent of the people are drunk and partying in the wat, and all of the monks are running around throwing water on the festival participants. It was something I could have ever imagined I would be doing in Thailand. I always had the impression of the wat as a haven of tranquility and monks as a reserved and reverent group of people. Man was I wrong! I also went with Dio to the local swimming hole where I ate my first crickets. Not too bad to tell you the truth!

It wasn't as bad as it looked!

On one of the last days of Song Kran Eleanor and I went to Chiang Mai with the staff from her SAO. We were going to participate in the main parade that files its way through Chiang Mai’s narrow streets. Representatives from each village and SAO represented our tambon along with my tall farang self and Eleanor. Hundreds of Thais and farangs lined the streets with water in hand. Everyone in the parade was a target, but being the only farang walking in it made me an irresistible mark. At one point in time I heard someone in the crowd say, “that tambon has a farang!” and they proceeded to douse me with ice water. Eleanor is of Asian descent so most Thais just think she is another Thai, therefore she was not targeted like I was. I decided that I needed to take things in my own hands and went and got a bucket from one of the spectators and got her good. Along the way I was continuously fed "lao khao" or Thai rice wine but the funniest little guy. He is from the town of my SAO and he thought it was just about the funniest thing that the farang was drinking "lao khao" and that he would be getting really drunk pretty soon. Well I think in his inebriated state he thought I was more drunk than I was, but it was still pretty funny.

He really did like feeding me that Thai whiskey!

It was back to work on Wednesday and by Friday I was already leaving again. I had a doctor’s appointment in Bangkok on Saturday so I had to leave in the early afternoon to Chiang Mai so I could supposedly catch an overnight train to Bangkok. When I arrived in Chiang Mai I soon found out that the train was full so I decided to just relax and head to the train station later that evening. The plan was to catch one of the many buses that go to Bangkok each night, but plans don't always turn out like one would wish. I had a Mexican dinner with my Thai teacher who lives in Chiang Mai and afterwards went to the bus station. There were an unusually large number of people at the station and I headed towards the first ticket booth with a little bit of trepidation. Sure enough, their bus was all sold out. On to the next one: sold out. It continued this way until I finally came to a booth with a group of people eagerly trying to buy tickets. I squeezed my way through and managed to get a ticket, much to my relief. Well this bus turned out not to be one of the luxurious overnight buses that I was used to. It was a normal bus with seats that barely reclined and no toilet. This was for a 10 hour trip! To further complicate things the attendants would not give me a receipt which I needed in order to be reimbursed by Peace Corps, the bus would not go to the normal bus station, and the Mexican food I ate was doing a number on my stomach. I suffered through the night but finally arrived in Bangkok and made a mad dash for my hotel!







The nearly completed dam.







I spent the weekend enjoying the Western luxuries in Bangkok and then headed back to Chiang Mai. I had wisely gone to the train station early and got myself a ticket on the overnight train. When I arrived in Chiang Mai the SAO staff was supposed to pick me up at 7:30 am, but of course they work on Thai time and arrived at 8:45. We spent the rest of the week up at my village where we once again inspected the water projects, went to a meeting with the SAO council members, and played lots of coin games. We headed back to Chiang Mai on Friday and I stayed for the one month reunion of all the PC volunteers in northern Thailand.

When I finally returned to the office on Monday I had been out for nearly two weeks straight. It has really combated the monotony that many of my friends have faced at their SAOs. With limited Thai skills there is not a whole lot to do in the office for the duration of an eight hour day. Luckily every time I return it seems like I am way behind on studying, journaling, IRBing, and reading my Newsweek magazines. I actually enjoy coming back. I am now officially one month away from moving to my permanent house in my village and I am getting excited. It will be a whole new period in my PC experience!